Lemon Cake

Total Time: 2 hrs 5 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr 15 mins Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients

• 3 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 5 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• lemon curd, raspberry jam or icing

Recipe

• 1 heat oven to 350 degrees f. butter and flour 2 parchment-paper-lined 8-inch cake pans. set aside.
• 2 sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together. set aside. beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy using a mixer set on medium speed. add the eggs, one at a time. beat in the vanilla extract. reduce mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture by thirds, alternating with the lemon juice and buttermilk.
• 3 divide the batter between the pans. bake until golden and a toothpick tests clean, about 45 to 50 minutes. cool in the pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes. unmold the cakes and cool completely.
• 4 split cakes into 4 layers using a long serrated knife. fill with lemon curd, jam, or icing. apply crumb coat and almost homemade buttercream frosting (see below) and decorate as desired.
• 5 how to apply the crumb coat and frosting: 1. trim the top of the cake with a long serrated knife to make it level. flip (the bottom becomes the top) to create a flat surface. 2. cut cake in half; spread one half with icing, lemon curd, or jam 3. top with other half, then crumb coat with a thin layer of icing. 4. start on the side and apply a 1/4-inch-thick layer of icing, a little at a time, holding the offset spatula vertically. 5. move a teaspoon through the icing to create s-shape swirls.